Elements

The Real Work on Your Content Begins After It's Published: Optimizing Performance

Many components of content marketing are controllable and predictable. But you know what isn't? Your audience's response. Surprises are the one thing you can count on.

So, what can you do when a piece of content you've created simply doesn't produce the right results?

Based on our experience, there's a lot you can do. In fact, with most content, the post-publishing optimization process can improve an article's performance significantly.

Examples we've come across are as simple as a piece that was too long and made users drop off, or one, which tested readers' knowledge of a topic, had too many questions about other, unrelated subjects, leading to frustration. Some situations are more complex and harder to spot, such as an article with a positive headline but a negative tone in the content itself, or any kind of mismatch between the way an article is being promoted and the substance it in fact provides.

All of those issues can be spotted and solved before your content reaches full audience exposure.

To get you started, here are three common scenarios to explore, along with optimization tactics to help you turn things around.

1. Reasons to Bounce

The problem. You are experiencing an exceptionally high bounce rate. Readers are clicking the published article, viewing it only briefly, and immediately moving off the page. This is an issue not only because readers did not consume your message but also because a high bounce rate will be reflected in your site's public stats, indicating to potential clients and investors that a problem possibly exists.